A conduit system may include a set of tubes, pipes, or other conduits for electrical and mechanical wires and connectors. Conduit bodies may be used to house electrical or mechanical components at junctions of two or more sections, or at terminal points, of a conduit system. Containment of the components of conduit bodies (and thus of the conduit system) may be achieved in part using appropriate covers that are secured over conduit bodies of the conduit system. The preferably-removable covers are designed to protect the electrical and mechanical components from, for example, external forces and contamination by moisture and dust. Sample covers for conduit bodies are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,129,631 to Shemtov.
The ability of a conduit cover to effectively enclose the interiors of conduit bodies, while providing for convenient access to the conduit bodies when needed, depends in large part on how the conduit cover is secured to the conduit body. Conduit covers are typically secured to conduit body using a screw fastener. However, such a method suffers from several drawbacks. Depending on the length of each screw, a user needs to screw each fastener into or out of a conduit body through many rotations, which can be very time intensive and tiring depending on the number of conduit covers being secured to and/or removed from conduit bodies. Additionally, the user does not readily know whether each screw has been sufficiently tightened. If a screw is under-turned, the conduit cover may not be adequately secured to the conduit body, leaving the components in the conduit body susceptible to contaminants (such as dust and moisture). If the screw is over-turned, the gasket forming a seal between the conduit cover and the conduit body may become deformed or damaged. Additionally, over-turning tends to strip the threads of the screw or conduit body, compromising the ability of the conduit body and conduit cover to be secured to each other.
What is needed is a mechanism that allows the user to conveniently secure a conduit cover to a conduit body more rapidly and without as much effort. Also, what is needed is a mechanism that allows the user to better know when optimal rotation of the fastener has been reached so as to avoid under- and over-turning of the fastener.